The opening ceremony of the 2018 World Fencing Championships was held in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, on July 22.

Featuring a combination of highly recognizable oriental music and sports elements, the show conveyed the beauty and poetry of sport.

Dances were performed by the Wuxi Song and Dance Troupe. A theatrical representation, Tai Hu Mei (the Beauty of Taihu Lake), was staged to music with a LED screen showing views of Wuxi.

Known as the erhu capital of China, Wuxi showed its charm with the most popular erhu song Erquan Yingyue (The Moon Reflected on the Er-quan Spring). Written by Wuxi's blind folk musician Hua Yanjun, it was performed by famous erhu player Deng Jiandong and students from Donglin Primary School and Lianyuanjie Primary School.

The championships, which run until July 27, will see roughly 1,370 of the world's top fencers from 108 countries and regions competing in 12 individual and team events in epee, foil, and sabre.